Fireflies
by jediserenity82
Summary: Set two years after the Starlights return to Kinmoku. There have been no sightings of a new enemy approaching, and the girls are about to enter their senior year of high school. This fic is on hiatus until further notice!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon or it's characters. The lyrics are not mine either. The song is entitled "Fireflies" by Finch from their last cd "Say Hello To Sunshine."

**Fireflies**

_Communications down  
I float without  
A light to lead me back  
I'm lost again  
They say silence is golden  
Loneliness never shined like this_

_Fireflies illuminate your eyes  
The moon will lead me back to earth again_

Sailor Star Fighter leaned against the tall, white pillar of the balcony that over-looked the palace gardens. It was night on Kinmoku and the stars shone brilliantly in the dark sky.

She was alone, arms crossed over her chest, her head pointed towards the sky. This was her nightly routine since the Starlight's returned to their home planet. She would stand completely alone and in utter silence as she gazed up at the sky. But it wasn't the stars that held her attention.

It was the moon. This time of night was the only time she could actually see the tiniest glimpse of the blue planet. And only because she knew exactly where to look for it.

_Odango,_ she thought as she closed her eyes tightly, feeling a sharp pain in her chest. _I miss you terribly._

Fighter thought that maybe as soon as she and the other senshi had arrived back on Kinmoku with their Princess, that everything would go back to normal and she would stop thinking about Usagi. She assumed that once they had begun the reconstruction of their planet, her mind would be too busy to think of the blonde, odango haired beauty.

_No such luck._

Her heart just wasn't into the efforts she, Maker, and Healer had made for the rebuilding projects. Fighter would do her job, of course, and during the day it almost seemed to help the pain that the young woman was feeling.

But night was a completely different story.

She would lay back in her bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to force the images of Tsukino Usagi's smiling face out of her mind, to no avail. Her dreams would be cluttered with images as Fighter's time as Kou Seiya and Usagi together.

Fighter no longer felt comfortable in her female body. She longed to go back to Earth and be Seiya again. But there would be no point.

_Odango has her Mamoru-chan. She's probably forgotten all about me._

Fighter felt a tear slide down her cheek. It had been two years since the Starlights and Kakyuu-hime had left the Sailor Moon and her senshi back on Earth. Usagi was probably already married to Mamoru-chan by now.

"Odango," she whispered. "I hope you're happy, where ever you are."

Unbeknownst to Fighter, someone was watching her. To avoid being seen, the figure held her back against the palace wall and listened.

Princess Kakyuu felt a tear slide down her own cheek. She could see the change in Fighter and could sense the pain she was feeling since they had arrived home. Maker and Healer seemed kind of down in the dumps as well, but not as quite to the point as their leader.

Kakyuu couldn't stand seeing her beloved senshi in pain. And they had worked so hard in their reconstruction efforts to make Kinmoku whole again. _They deserve a vacation,_ she mused.

She didn't want to lose her senshi, but if she could get a smile on Fighter's face again, it might be worth it.

* * *

_Meanwhile, back on Earth..._

Tsukino Usagi was suddenly over come with deja vu. She sat quietly on the park bench, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. _Why was this happening again?_

"Usako," Chiba Mamoru place a hand tenderly on her shoulder, and gave it a light squeeze. "I promise that it won't be forever. One year, two at the most." he paused. "You didn't have this much of a problem with it before."

"Mamo-chan," Usagi sniffled, looking down at her hands. "Do you remember what happened the last time you were supposed to go to America?" she shuddered at the awful memory of nearly losing Mamoru and her friends, just two years ago, at the hands of Galaxia.

Mamoru chuckled slightly. "Usagi, you defeated Galaxia. There have been absolutely no signs of any new enemies since then. I'll be fine. You'll be fine."

He reached over and clasped a large hand over her small ones. "Usako, to be on the safe side, seeing how much you suffered the last time," he paused, collecting his thoughts. "I think it would be best if I let you go."

Usagi gasped and turned to look over at him. "You're breaking up with me?"

He sighed and ran a hand though his black hair. "Usako, I couldn't live with myself if I made you feel lonely, as you did before," he looked over at her and squeezed her shoulder. "We have the rest of our lives to be together, right? We already know our future."

Usagi once again turned her attention back to her trembling hands. "I...I guess you're right." Tears formed in her eyes and she fought desperately to hold them back.

"Besides," he continued. "This is your senior year of high school. The two of us won't have enough time for a proper relationship." he paused and flashed her a sad smile "But I promise, the moment I come back, we'll be together again."

Usagi suddenly stood up, hands clenched into tight fists as anger flowed through her, replacing the sadness that had been there only moments ago. She lifted her hand and pulled off the promise ring he had given her and shoved it into his hand. She wouldn't go through that pain, not again.

"You promised never to leave me again. And you've broken that promise. I won't go through that again."

Shocked, Mamoru stood silent, as he watched Usagi retreat in the direction of her home. He sighed and reached down to collect his luggage. "Bye, Usako."


	2. Chapter One

**Authors Note:** Well, I was going to wait for my beta to look at this chapter before I post this, but she seems to have disappeared, and I want to post this now heh. Thanks to those of you who reviewed on the prologue. I heart reviews long time :) Anywho, I still don't own Sailor Moon or the Finch lyrics. But I would _own_ the world if I did.

* * *

**Fireflies**

_Communications down  
I float without  
A light to lead me back  
I'm lost again  
They say silence is golden  
Loneliness never shined like this_

_Fireflies illuminate your eyes  
The moon will lead me back to earth again_

Usagi sat on her bed, her knees pulled up to her chest as she stared out of the window. The dreary, rainy weather matched her mood perfectly. She watched as the raindrops splintered against the glass.

"Mamo-chan," she sighed, leaning her head against the window. The cool glass felt wonderful on her feverish forehead.

Mamoru had tried calling several times since he had arrived in America, but Usagi refused to take his calls. She was still far too angry and much to hurt to even hear his voice right now.

Tomorrow was the first day of school, her senior year. Usagi knew that she should have been asleep by now. Instead, she found herself staring out the window, thinking about her past. She thought about the time when she first met Mamoru, at the tender age of fourteen. How happy she had been back then.

Usagi though about her first year of high school, when Mamoru had first decided to study abroad. She had been heartbroken, and she could almost feel each new splinter in it every time she sent him a letter, and never got a response in return.

At the beginning, she wrote to him everyday. He hadn't given her a telephone number to be able to reach him, just a mailing address. She would tell him of the events that happened to her that day, of what her life was like. Even if she couldn't be with him, Usagi wanted her love to know everything about her, and to let him know that she would never forget him.

But he never responded.

And with each letter gone unanswered, Usagi's hopes began to dwindle. She continued to write to him; she still held a small sliver of hope in her heart that he would finally write or send some sort of indication that he still loved her. She was Tsukino Usagi, after all. The girl with big dreams and an even bigger heart.

However, amongst that small shimmer of hope, laid an even smaller sense of dread and pain. What if her beloved Mamoru had met someone else and forgotten her? What would happen to the future the two were destined to? What would happen to Crystal Tokyo?

What would happen to Chibiusa?

_No, _she had told herself. _My Mamo-chan wouldn't do that to me. He would never deceive me!_

Usagi didn't tell her friends that Mamoru hadn't responded to any of her letters. She didn't want them to think harshly of her love. She knew, deep in her heart, that Mamoru was just busy with his studies, and that his lack of communication was not intentional. But her friends, Minako, Rei, Mokoto, Ami, Setsuna, Michiru, and Haruka, _especially _Haruka, were incredibly protective of her. She knew that Haruka would become enraged and possibly follow Mamoru to America, and do God knows what to him.

So, she kept a smile plastered to her pretty face. She could be strong. She could wait.

And she did.

Never had she expected to be able to be so strong. But she had the help of her friends, along with three new companions, Seiya, Taiki, and Yaten, she had managed to pull through.

_Seiya._ The thought of him brought a small smile to her face. He had been so understanding, caring, and always stayed by her side.

Even when his cousins, Taiki and Yaten, had forbid him from seeing her after they found out that she was really Sailor Moon, he went out of his way to see her. He would never leave her alone. He, and after Taiki and Yaten had come around, they had helped her defeat Galaxia and safe her planet.

Seiya, himself, had saved her.

He didn't make her forget about Mamoru, but he sure helped ease the pain. Had it not been for Mamoru, and a future that had already been mapped out for them, Usagi would have fallen for Seiya in a heartbeat.

He was so different from Mamoru. In good ways. He was funny, and enjoyed life to its fullest. It may have been because he knew that his time as "Seiya" was short, since they were only here to find their Princess. But Usagi felt that everything that Seiya did was real, and his excitement for life was genuine.

_"Am I not good enough?"_

Those words caused a dull ache in Usagi's heart. Seiya _had_ been good enough, Usagi now realized. But she was destined to love another.

But now that Mamoru was gone...

_If only you were here, Seiya. I want to see you._

"Usagi-chan?" Luna jumped up on the bed next to her human companion and nudged her forearm, that was resting on her knees, with her nose. "Tomorrow is the start of your senior year. Shouldn't you be in bed?"

When she received no reply, Luna sighed. "It's been two weeks since Mamoru-san left for America. The other girls are worried about you." she nudged her arm again. "And so am I."

Usagi reached down and pulled the small, black cat into her lap. "Luna, how could he leave me again after what happened the last time? He promised to never leave me again!" A fresh set of new tears formed in her blue eyes and she buried her face in the small cat's soft fur.

Luna frowned sympathetically. "Are all men this selfish?" she asked. "If they are, I'm glad I'm a cat."

_Not all men,_ Usagi thought to herself. "Seiya never broke any of his promises to me."

The cat's eyes widened in surprise. "Seiya? What made you think of him?"

The teenager ignored the question and gazed back out the window. The rain had began to subside, and the cloud began to part enough to where she could almost see the stars. She smiled slightly as she sat the feline back onto the bed. "Seiya. I wonder what he's doing right now?"

Luna glanced over at her friend curiously. _Could it be?_

* * *

_On Kinmoku..._

Princess Kakyuu was seated at the head of the long, oak table, waiting for her senshi to arrive. She had called the Starlights in for an important meeting. She would tell them that their vacation started tomorrow. They were allowed to go where ever they wanted, and do what they pleased.

Kakyuu propped her elbow up on the table and rested her chin in her hand. She couldn't wait to see the looks on their faces when she told them. She would be sad to see them go, but deep down, she knew that was what they wanted.

The Princess hadn't decided how long the "vacation" would last. She would leave that up to them.

The reconstruction efforts had been going extremely well. Kinmoku was nearly fully functional once again. There were still signs of battle that still scared the surface, emotional scars, that would remain for eternity. But just by looking at the beautiful work that the Starlights and the rest of the denizens of the had done, new comers would never have known of the horrible events that had taken place not so many years ago.

The trees and wildlife were flourishing once again. New signs of life throughout the atmosphere proved that all of their hard work had not been in vein.

Kakyuu looked up as her senshi entered the meeting room, each bowing before their beloved Princess. "Our apologies for the delay, my Princess, but the meeting with the..." Maker began, but the Kakyuu cut his apology short.

"No need to apologize, Maker." she said softly. "Starlights, please be seated. There is much we need to discuss."

The senshi each exchanged worried glances. "Is everything all right, my lady?" Fighter asked, taking her seat next to the Princess.

Kakyuu nodded slightly as the other two took their seats. "Everything is just fine, Fighter. No need to worry."

Healer nodded. "So, what is it you would wish to speak to us about, Princess?"

Kakyuu looked down at her hands, which were now clasped tightly together, in front of her, on the table. "First, I want to thank each of your for your hard work on making our world whole again. The three of you have gone above and beyond my expectations. Our planet lives once more."

Fighter, Maker, and Healer sat in silence, waiting for her to continue. When she remained silent, Fighter cleared her throat. "No need to thank us, Kakyuu-hime. It is our duty to you and our planet. We would each kill for Kinmoku, and die for you."

The Princess smiled sadly and the other two nodded in agreement. "I cherish each and every last one of you, my lovely senshi. I want to show you, just how much I care for you." she cleared her throat and blinked back tears. Could she really let them go?

_Yes,_ she told herself. _I want them to be as happy as they have made me. _"I've decided that you three deserve a vacation."

Healer chuckled. "Princess, that is unnecessary. We do these things because we love you and our planet. We need to be here for you."

"Hai," Fighter and Maker agreed in unison.

Kakyuu shook her head. "But you three are unhappy here. I do not wish to see my three best friends so distraught."

The Starlights started to protest, but the Princess held up her hand to silence them. "The decision has been made." she said, forcefully. "Now, where would you like to go on your time off?"

Silence.

"The three of you enjoyed your time on Earth, did you not? You could go there and visit with our friends there." She deliberately looked in Fighter's direction.

Fighter felt her heart pound against her chest. _Odango! I could see her again!_

Maker rubbed her chin. "Before Galaxia, we did have a pretty good time there. And it would be nice to see Ami-chan and the other girls, as well."

Healer nodded in agreement. "As much as I hate to admit it, I miss those annoying girls myself."

Kakyuu kept her eyes glued on Fighter, who had remained speechless. "Well, Fighter? How about you?"

The other senshi looked at Fighter expectantly. They all knew of her feelings for the certain blonde, odango haired girl. "We don't have to go there, Fighter," Maker whispered sympathetically. "if seeing _her _again would make you uncomfortable."

The raven-haired crossed her arms over her chest as she leaned back in her chair, deep in thought. _Can I really stand the thought of seeing her...with _him_? Can I handle that?_

_But, oh Gods, I want to see her again!_

Finally, Fighter nodded. "I'll go."

Kakyuu beamed happily. "It's settled, then! I'll contact Sailor Pluto and have it arranged for you to leave tomorrow."

And with that, she stood up and quickly headed out of the room to make preparations for her senshi's travel back to Earth.

Maker turned to her friend. "Are you sure about this, Fighter? Do you think you can handle seeing Usagi again with Mamoru-sama?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe..." her voice trailed off. "Maybe seeing her with him will do me some good to help me get over the fact that I can never have her."

Healer snorted. "Two years is a long time. Maybe they don't even remember us."

"Perhaps this will give you some closure," Maker commented. "and you can finally move on with your life."

"Maybe," she stood, and headed towards the exit. "All I know is that I want to see her. As Healer said, two years is a long time, she may not even be with him anymore, and I could have another chance," she sighed. "I'm not going there to break up the _happy_ couple, but if something happens..."

"Just don't get your hopes up, my friend." the brown haired senshi warned. "Broken hearts are hard to mend."


	3. Author's Note

**A/N: **I want to thank you all for being so patient with me with these updates. I wish I was giving you guys a new chapter right now, but unfortunately that's not the case.

Since the ending of my 40 chapter fic, _Beautiful Darkness, _I've been struck with a severe case of writer's block that I can't seem to shake. I had planned to be several chapter ahead with _Fireflies_ by now, but if it tells you anything, I barely have a page written of the next chapter. I've started and restarted it so many times and keep throwing them all away because I don't feel they're good enough. Maybe I've lost my touch, or at least lost my muse, because he, or she, or it is no where to be found.

I've re watched the entire Stars season to try to get some ideas, even while I was at work, but so far nothing has hit me. I know where I want the story to go, I just seem to be having a hard time getting it out on paper.

It's insanely frustrating, because writing is normally one of the few things that I have in life that keeps me completely happy, because I love hearing what you guys think, and love coming up with new ideas and exciting chapters to keep you guys entertained. So this is really hard for me.

But rest assured, I do plan on continuing to try and hopefully within the next couple of weeks, or months at the latest, I'll be back on track and get a new chapter for you guys as soon as I possibly can. Just please bare with me.

So, in conclusion, _Fireflies,_ as well as any other story I had been working on, is being put on hiatus for the time being. For those of you who are on my alert list, be sure to stay and keep altered because I will be back soon and hopefully better than ever.

Thank you all, and I'm so sorry for the inconvenience.

-JS


End file.
